Ike is headed my way

[trekgeezer]

The remnants of Hurricane Ike are headed to Arkansas this evening promising to bring 6 to 12 inches of rain with 50mph winds and the possibility of tornadoes.

The good thing is, it's going to be moving through fast, off to Missouri by Sunday afternoon.

Unlike Gustav which dumped several inches of rain over two days on us and winds that took trees and powerlines down.  I was off work for a day because the power was out and all the electric crews had headed down to Louisiana to help out.  Ended up that parts of our state were affected more than Louisiana was.

[ulthar]

Good luck, Trek.

I've been watching Ike closely as I have good friends in the Port Lavaca area of Texas (in the crosshairs until about Thursday night), and they fled to a farm inland somewhere W of Houston.

Hopefully, he'll lose much of his steam before he gets there.

[Derf]

We were in those crosshairs for a while, too (Corpus Christi area). As it is today, I'm not sure we're going to see any rain at all from Ike. I don't wish a hurricane on anyone, but at the same time, I am glad we were spared. I went through the full fury of Celia in 1970, and I really don't much want to do that again. Good luck with the rain, Trek.

[Patient7]

We've been getting what's left of Gustav up here in Illinois, nothing more than heavy rains though.  Good Luck!

[indianasmith]

It's bumping against us as I write this - 35 mph winds and LOTS of rain, trees swaying and all . . . big fun!

[RCMerchant]

We've been getting what's left of Gustav up here in Illinois, nothing more than heavy rains though.  Good Luck!

It's raining p**s out of a boot here in Michigan as well.

[trekgeezer]

We just went through a bunch of tornado warnings.  A couple were sorta close. 

These tornadoes coming off the tropical storm aren't like the one's we usually get here, they are quick to spin up and dissipate.  The hang up is they don't give any warning.

I think it will be later in the evening before the torrential rains arrive. I'm just glad it supposed to get out of here quickly.

[Raffine]

Hope everyone weathered the storm OK.

There's nothing quite the feeling of helplessness when you live on the coast and there's a monster storm on the way. That said: after fifteen years of living 'inland' I'm considering moving back to an area just ripe for a hurricane - Savannah, GA.

What a maroon I am! 

[BoyScoutKevin]

Here is an update.

The confirmed deaths in Texas are 23, at last count, but hundreds are still missing. They think they'll never find some of the missing, as their bodies were washed out to sea.

After a week, some residents were allowed back into their homes. Everything that was on the first floor (appliances, furniture, rugs, etc.) is now sitting by the curb waiting for somebody to pick it up. Water damage was so bad in some places that nothing on the first floor was able to be saved.

That is for those who still had home. Some residents who had seashore property, you've seen the photos. In some areas only one home in four, if that many, are still left. The other three are totally gone.

That is for people who were able to go home. For many people in that area of the state, life is mariginal, even in the best of times, a hand to mouth existance. Thus when they evacuated to the shelters in the north, they spent everything they had. Now, unless they get more financial aid, they don't have any way to get home.

The ranchers, those who didn't loose all their livestock to the storm, are working night and day to round all the loose animals. It was estimated, that after the storm had passed, there were between 11,000 and 12,000 head of cattle and horses running wild, because all the fences were down.

The shrimpers and oystermen will have to go on relief. The season was just getting started, when the storm came through, stirring up the water so bad, that there is little left to harvest until next year. That is for those who still have a boat that floats. Some boats were found a mile inland from the gulf.

While the oil platforms and refineries took less of a hit than expected, gas went up 24 cents a gallon overnight due to the damage. That is if you could find a gas station that was still open and operating. The gas pumps being electrically operated, when the power goes out, they stop working.

Some people, even a week later, still don't have power. The crews have been working around the clock to restore power to the areas effected. The utilities have even brought in crews from out of state. The power companies will absorb some of the cost for all this, but they can't absorb it all, so next year, people will be faced with even higher utility bills.

Even with federal existance, the local and state governments are in hoc to the tune of billions of dollars through revenue lost and the cost of the damage the storm caused.

While Ike may not be as bad as Katrina, it'll be years for some areas to be back to normal. And some areas will never be back to normal.